Heyyy, rumor roundup!
We’re hearing that Fast Society has some potential suitors hot to get their hands on the app that’s built to party. Is it Andrew W.K.?! We asked FS, and they “don’t comment on rumors,” but the company implied they’d be open to an offer. “We are going to do whatever is right for our business and vision,” co-founder Matthew Rosenberg said in an email.
GroupMe’s Steve Martocci has reached the next level! “There’s a new party boy in tech town,” the Daily News declared today, based on the rumor that in Austin Mr. Martocci bought a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, which sells for about $250, for “each of approximately 40-employees in his New York office.” Sounds like a lucky day for Jumo, which shares an office with the 13 GroupMes. WAIT–WE HAVE RECEIVED A TWEET–in real-time, from the GroupMe HQ! It seems the NYDN may be FOS. Or maybe Mr. Martocci just doesn’t want to share with community manager, Sir “Sassy” Steve Spillman.
Philly Startup Weekend produced LaunchRock, the simple-yet-brilliant, single best hype machine for start-ups that have not yet launched, and we’re now hearing that the company is getting funded to the tune of $400,000 and being shipped out to the Bay Area soon. They’re having a party in New York, we heard, and you’ll have to invite three people in order to get in–viral marketing in action!
It’s a great day for hackathon-hatched start-ups! TripMedi, the app that was built on a bus, is suffering from an embarrassment of riches. A few investors from New York and beyond are going after the company, which isn’t sure if it wants to go for AngelList or apply to TechStars or Y Combinator or what. One thing seems clear–it looks like three members of the team are off the bus, leaving a committed core of three: Roland Dillon, Steve Schlafman, and Londoner Ravi Kotecha, who is going to need a visa. It’s been a total whirlwind for the company that was built in seven days–but they’ve got good training, considering they coded on the road during a tornado.
Did you notice that half of New York tech went on vacation after SXSW? Or maybe it was just Foursquare’s Dennis Crowley, who headed down to Mexico to become mayor of Puerto Vallerta. Jealz.
